SchifferLine 15 November 2007

Timely Real Estate News……………………………………..15 November 2007***************************************************************************************************************************************Our micro-climate is doing just fine…as in fine wines....
If you were a farmer looking for the perfect micro climate to plant grapes that would produce the finest reds or whites, the last place you’d think of is Los Angeles’s Westside. Tom and Ruth Jones, proprietors of the renowned Moraga Vineyards (moragavineyards.com) in Sepulveda Pass, would tell you that they have found the perfect micro climate to raise these quality grapes on their 16-acre estate they purchased 40 years ago. They produce two premium wines — Moraga Red and Moraga Red which sell for approximately $125 per bottle to a select list of clientele. And they sell out every year. Robert Parker, the famous wine critic, claimed that “…Moraga could easily be mistaken for a top-flight Bordeaux.” This is a little-known treasure in our very own Moraga Canyon.

In many ways, the micro-climates that help produce the vintage Moraga wines represent the best ‘side’ of our communities of Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and Brentwood, which have become their own micro-climates in a world of real estate — these neighborhoods continue to weather the storms raging around them — falling real estate prices, obscene inventories, and mounting foreclosures.

Certainly, we get our share of misery some times, but overall these communities, including the Beverly Hills Post Office neighborhood have performed better than most places in the United States and in Los Angeles in particular.

For example, median sale prices on the Westside took a big leap upward in November with Beverly Hills Post Office area posting a 187% increase vs. 2006 MSP according to the Multiple Listing Services for our area. Beverly Hills had a 137% increase over last year, and Brentwood had a 42% rise in the median sales price. Bel Air had a modest 8% drop in MSP, but this appears to be an anomaly.

The median sales price for 2007 year-to-date for all four areas are slightly ahead of 2006 prices, meaning that we are holding our own in the face of declining markets elsewhere in California and around the US. Yes, I would say that we, indeed, have a beautiful micro-climate for home investment — and fine wines, too.

Foreclosures….at this point, appear to be minimized as well on the Westside. From all indications, there still is some mortgage garbage to clean up, and perhaps more to come. However, currently, there are a total of eight condos and 11 homes that are in the foreclosure ‘track’ in the four areas I primarily focus on (Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, and Beverly Hills, and Beverly Hills Post Office) — meaning they are in one of three stages of the foreclosure process –1) notice of default, 2) trustee sale, and 3) actual sale. — and we’ll check in December to see what actually ended up being sold. Many foreclosures go through the first two stages in the foreclosure process, and get corrected (paid up and thus cleared) before they reach the actual foreclosure sale.

My trip to China was beyond all expectations…..
I just returned from 19 days in China, a trip planned — it seemed — for a lifetime. It is one of those mystical, far-off places one dreams about visiting and for lots of dumb reasons, never goes. But this summer, I made my reservations to visit Beijing, Shanghai, Chung Quing ,Xian, Guilin, Hong Kong, and spend four, luxurious days on the Yangtze River. I took over 500 photos with my new digital camera, and I could have taken another 400 — the country is so magnificent…..the people so friendly and hospitable. The accommodations were five-star all the way…the food was too delicious….and the sites (Terra Cotta Soldiers, The Great Wall, and so many others) exceeded my expectations. The Pandas are too cute for words.

What most impressed me was that China is a very exciting country — and especially to witness what they have accomplished during the last 20 years since Mao Tse Tung died. China is very clean, orderly, and the people are very friendly, and boy are they ‘ready’ to host the 2008 Olympics. I now have a vocabulary of approximately 20 Mandarin words. (It was fun to learn even the simplest terms and phrases, and the Chinese really enjoy you trying the language.. except when they are trying to sell you something at one of the “hello” markets.)

I wasn’t the only American there — that’s for sure. Thousands of Americans are streaming into China to experience this exciting and beautiful country. And I was fortunate to see the Beijing Opera, a Kung Fu show, and the world-famous acrobats. What treasures.

Now, back to reality….to fine wines….and to a great real estate market! (Ding, ding how — translated… very, very good) !!!)